Do you really know?

According to the American Academy of Sleep medicine, 50% to 85% of adults experience occasional nightmares, with 2% to 8% of people having nightmares that cause sleep problems. No one likes having nightmares, do they? These vivid, distressing bad dreams often cause us to jolt awake, heart pounding, in fear or anxiety. They can feature threatening scenarios, monsters, or deeply unsettling experienc...

How our brains work during dreams is as fascinating as it is mysterious. Dreams can be hard to predict, and sometimes of course we end up having nightmares. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some control over what happens in our dreams? Well, as it turns out it may actually be possible to some extent. Well controlling dreams fully is a bit of a stretch. But according to neuroscience researchers from the...

Have you ever noticed a man explaining something to a woman in a supremely confident way which suggests he absolutely knows more than her about the subject? Well, there’s a term for that, which is mansplaining. A recent thread on parenting forum Mumsnet invited women to share their worst examples of mansplaining. Among them were patronising explanations of the offside rule, a gas man telling a qua...

Stealth wealth or quiet luxury as it is sometimes known is the practice of concealing one's wealth or not flaunting one's money or possessions, but rather keeping them private and discreet. It’s the kind of luxury that keeps a low profile and doesn't try to stand out with big logos or loud statement pieces. But that does not mean people don’t know you are wealthy, at least some people do. Look at...

We chat with family, colleagues and strangers almost without noticing. But as our lives become more digital, we can now go hours, sometimes even days,  without having a proper conversation. And that may matter more than we think. Do we really talk less than we used to? But why are we talking less? Does talking less actually affect our brains? Is talking good for our mental health? In under 3...

In 2021, American multi-millionaire Bryan Johnson began his Project Blueprint. Then 43, his stated aim was to restore his body and organs to the state of an eighteen-year-old. To do this, he follows an extreme fitness program and a strict diet, and takes a whole host of medicines and supplements, not to mention undergoing an organ operation every year. All of this costs around $2M per year. His te...

Regular listeners will be familiar with a number of Scandinavian lifestyle trends by now, given we’ve discussed the likes of Denmark’s hygge, Sweden’s lagom and Norway’s friluftsliv on the show in the past. Today, we’re going to talk about a custom from Finland which has gained international recognition in recent years. Kalsarikännit is made up of two Finnish words: “kalsari", which means "underwe...

What do chicken nuggets, margarine and instant noodles all have in common? Well, they may look tasty, but they’re loaded with sugar, salt, fat and chemicals that strip away their nutritional value. That’s due to the heavy processing that goes into making them, which sees them completely transformed from the original raw ingredients.  And they’re increasingly ever present on our shelves and in...

Flat Earthers believe that the Earth is not spherical, but rather a flat disc and the Sun and the Moon are also flat discs that circle above the Earth. According to them the edges of the world are surrounded by a wall of ice, which is what we know as Antarctica. And as for the pictures of the Earth from space - they are all fake, part of a huge conspiracy to hide the truth. The earliest cultu...

"There are way easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week." That’s exactly what Elon Musk tweeted in November 2018, as part of a call for new talent to join his companies. The post went viral, leading to a lot of people critiquing Musk's take on work and merit. Despite the criticism he faced, a lot of people, and followers of hustle culture in particular, stoo...

Imagine somebody spending months gaining your trust, only to eventually trick you into handing over your life savings. Well that’s the basic principle behind a scam commonly called “pig-butchering”.  The name refers to gradually “fattening up” a victim’s confidence before taking as much money as possible. Law enforcement organisations prefer the term romance-baiting investment fraud, which is...

The 21st century has seen true crime stories surge in popularity, dominating bookshelves and TV schedules. Documentaries like Making A Murderer and podcasts like Serial, which investigate real-life crimes, have become smash hits, attracting millions of viewers and downloads. Over in the US, a 2022 YouGov poll revealed that half of Americans enjoy true crime content, with one in three consuming it...

Whether it’s making a wish over a birthday cake, waiting for lottery results, or opening an email following a job interview, it's pretty common to cross your fingers. It’s a way of communicating that we’re hoping luck swings in our favor and our wishes come true. Often, you don’t even need to physically cross your fingers; simply saying "Fingers crossed” is enough to get the message across. But th...

Currently there are many people that just feel they cannot get onto the property ladder, but is buying your own home really the best way to invest your money? Well, there are many benefits to owning your home, such as the stability and peace of mind that it can bring you. You can’t be evicted by a landlord, you can decorate and furnish it as you want, and you can enjoy the social and psycholo...

"May all your delulu come trululu, because being delulu is the solulu." The clip you just listened to comes from American influencer Bianca Bernardo on Tiktok, and it’s had over 2/3 million views at the time of recording. If you’re wondering what the heck those crazy words mean, it’s best summed up as saying: “may all your fantasies turn into reality”.  Indeed, the delulu hashtag has rac...

Did you know that each of us has a truly unique body odour, which is influenced by a mix of genetic, hormonal, age-related, environmental, and lifestyle factor? And your diet plays a role in shaping your natural scent. Some foods have their own noticeably strong odours, like garlic or onions for example, and can in turn cause us to sweat more. The same goes for spices and chili, which makes sense...

When someone tells you not to do something it often becomes even more tempting, which is why, as a teenager, when your parents forbade you from seeing a certain boyfriend or girlfriend you felt even more passionate about them. Now psychologist have looked into what causes this so-called  ‘Romeo and Juliet effect’. Psychologists at the University of Colorado chose the name of Shakespeare's pla...

You've got a fever, a sore throat, and you've felt awful for the last couple of days. You see your GP, only to leave without a prescription. It's frustrating. Most of us have been there, wondering: Why won't they just give me antibiotics? The answer is simple, and it's one of the biggest public health challenges of our time. But aren't antibiotics supposed to treat infections? So what can we do? I...

The world of cinema is full of films and sagas which leave their mark on a generation, sometimes becoming cult films. And another phenomenon is becoming more and more common: that of the spin off. Spin-off films involve the creation of a new work based on the original, focusing on the story of a secondary character. There are a number of reasons why directors and screenwriters have chosen to...

We spend a good deal of our time at work, 35 hours a week or more. It's an integral part of our lives, so if you can it's always best to surround yourself with good colleagues. They make work not only more enjoyable but stimulating.  Their support and collaboration also helps to create a positive environment where teamwork leads to tackling problems and finding solutions. However, when we don...

The number of moles we have on our bodies largely depends on sun exposure. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Most people have 10 to 45 moles that appear during childhood and the teenage years.” Moles can vary in thickness, shape, colour, and they sometimes even have hair. They can pop up between your toes, on your scalp, on your earlobes or under your nails-anywhere really. Rest assured, most of the...

Numerous archaeological findings have suggested that dogs were the first animals to be domesticated by humans over 20,000 years ago. So it’s little surprise that in this day and age, 29% of UK adults own a dog. That’s according to 2023 data from vet charity PDSA.  If you have a dog, you may have been told that you share physical characteristics with it, a sort of family resemblance if you lik...

As of March 2024, the UK inflation rate stood at 3.2%, well below the record levels that had been seen a year prior. But still the cost of living crisis is biting and grocery shopping is one of the areas in which prices rose the most across 2022 and 2023. Thinking of ways to save on groceries has become really important and we’ve got a special tip for all of you listening today. The 6-1 method com...

A lot of people think that morning erections are triggered by erotic dreams, or a need to pee, but in fact they're a physiological reflex linked to sleep. That’s right - they’re not dependent on sexual arousal at all. And in a somewhat similar way, women actually also experience increased blood flow to the clitoris during the night. Now, the scientific term for a nighttime erection is nocturn...

All personal development coaches emphasise the importance of setting goals, even ones that may seem out of reach at first. Doing so not only boosts motivation but also enables gradual achievement.  Nowadays a lot of people find this kind of approach almost second nature, but others struggle with it. A fear of failure, workplace anxiety, and a lack of self-confidence can make ambition seem una...